There are significant gaps in understanding the relationship between individual level, school level, and community level factors as they relate to adolescent alcohol use. This study seeks to help close that gap by examining individual, school, and community level variables as they relate to the incidence, initiation, and etiology of adolescent alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. The specific aims of this research are to: "Determine patterns of adolescent alcohol consumption by gender, age, student ethnicity, level of rurality, region, and ethnicity of community. "Estimate the effect of individual, community, and school-level risk and protective factors on adolescent alcohol use. "Examine patterns of adolescent alcohol-related problems by (1) gender, age, student ethnicity, level of rurality, region, and ethnicity of community;(2) level of alcohol use;(3) drinking locations;and (4) community and school norms related to alcohol use. "Estimate an initiation model for the age a respondent first got drunk, incorporating community and school contextual variables into the model. "Examine the types of drinking locations and contexts by gender, age, student ethnicity, level of rurality, region, ethnicity of community, and costs of drinking. "Identify community characteristics that predict community norms regarding adolescent alcohol use and perceived availability of alcohol. This study will use secondary data analysis of cross-sectional data collected from a sample of 193 predominantly white rural communities, 89 predominantly ethnic minority (African-American and Mexican-American) communities, and a comparison sample of non-rural communities. The sample was drawn from a strategically developed sampling frame designed to be representative of rural locations throughout the U.S. Multilevel modeling, including multilevel logistic regression, zero inflated poisson and two-part modeling, and event history analysis, cross tabulation and regression analysis will be used in the analyses. In terms of intervention development, both for prevention and treatment, the findings of this study will help delineate the role of key school and community level risk factors which can be incorporated into existing intervention paradigms. Alcohol is the most widely used substance among adolescents in the United States. There is evidence that contexts, such as community and school environments, have significant influence on alcohol use among youth. The results of this study will inform policy, prevention, and treatment efforts designed to reduce the risk of adolescent alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.